Section 6 (Texas Traditional) Report Review Form emailed to FWS S6 coordinator (mm/dd/yyyy): 3/6/2013 TPWD signature date on report: 2/19/2013 Project Title: Final or Interim Report? Final Grant #: TX E-130-R Reviewer Station: Clearlake ESFO Lead station concurs with the following comments: NA (reviewer from lead station) Interim Report (check one): Final Report (check one): Acceptable (no comments) Acceptable (no comments) Needs revision prior to final report (see Needs revision (see comments below) comments below) Incomplete (see comments below) Incomplete (see comments below) Comments: FINAL PERFORMANCE REPORT As Required by THE ENDANGERED SPECIES PROGRAM TEXAS Grant No. TX E-130-R Endangered and Threatened Species Conservation Surveys for Threatened and Endangered Mussels and Fishes in Rivers of Northeastern Texas Prepared by: Dr. Neil Ford Carter Smith Executive Director Clayton Wolf Director, Wildlife 31 January 2013 1 INTERIM REPORT STATE: ____Texas_______________ GRANT NUMBER: ___ TX E-130-R-1__ GRANT TITLE: Surveys for Threatened and Endangered Mussels and Fishes in Rivers of Northeastern Texas REPORTING PERIOD: ____1 Sep 2010 to 31 Jan 2013_ OBJECTIVE(S). To obtain a database of information on the occurrence of rare species of mussels and fish throughout the extent of the rivers of the northeast Texas region. Segment Objectives: Task 1. Oct -Dec 2010. Historical information will be compiled and examined for the occurrence of each species of threatened and endangered fish and mussel in each River Basin. Habitat preferences and other pertinent traits for each species will be determined. Task 2. Jan – Mar 2011. Use GIS maps to find potential areas within the river that contain appropriate geomorphology and habitat conditions for the occurrence of each threatened or endangered species. Data used will include river width, sinuosity, geology, substrates, vegetation, historical hydrologic data from USGS gauges, etc. Task 3. May – Nov. 2011 & 2012. Surveys will conducted within each River Basin for the rare fish and mussel species in areas that we predicted from the historical data and our previous collection information. Task 4. Dec. – May 2011 and 2012. The presence of threatened and endangered species will be placed into ArcGIS. Significant Deviations: None. Summary Of Progress: Please see Attachment A. Location: Northeastern Texas. 2 Cost: ___Costs were not available at time of this report, they will be available upon completion of the Final Report and conclusion of the project.__ Prepared by: _Craig Farquhar_____________ Date: 19 February 2013 Approved by: ______________________________ Date:_____19 February 2013 ____ C. Craig Farquhar 3 ATTACHMENT A Final Report Surveys for Threatened and Endangered Mussels and Fishes in Rivers of Northeastern Texas Texas Parks and Wildlife Department United States Fish and Wildlife Service Section 6 Grant TX E-130-R Project Leader Dr. Neil B. Ford Deptartment of Biology University of Texas at Tyler Tyler, TX 75799 (903) 566-7249 [email protected] Co-Principal Investigators: Dr. Lance Williams Ms. Marsha G. Williams Ms. Marsha May Reporting Period September 1, 2010 – Jan. 31, 2013 4 Abstract The goal of this project was to obtain a database of information on the threatened and rare species of mussels and fish in the northeast Texas region. Fishes and mussels were collected in the fall of 2010, spring and summer of 2011, and spring and summer of 2012 at 19 sites in the Angelina river, 10 sites in the Attoyac bayou, 65 sites in the Neches river, 40 sites in the Sabine River, 13 sites in the Cypress Creek basin, 13 sites in the Sulphur river, and 7 sites in the Trinity river. Sites were chosen based on habitat description from data from recent historical collections and our own surveys in 2009 and earlier. Overall, we collected 11,559 fish over the study. We found 5,896 fish from the Sabine River representing 59 species and 3,830 fish from the Neches River representing 56 species. We collected 342 fish in the Cypress River basin representing 32 species and 1,133 fish representing 23 species in the Sulphur River. We collected 353 fish in the Angelina River representing 22 species. We collected 20,134 individual mussels of 35 species of which 83% were live. We recorded 1853 live and 243 dead mussels of 22 species in the Angelina river and Attoyac bayou, 10,122 live and 972 dead mussels of 28 species from the Neches river, 460 live and 294 recently dead mussels of 19 species from the Cypress Creek basin, 2215 live and 1139 dead mussels of 19 species from the Sabine, 940 live and 95 dead mussels of 21 species from the Sulphur river, and 1124 live and 679 dead mussels of 16 species in the Trinity river. We found 2 species of fish state listed as species of concern (Western sand darter and Sabine shiner) and 3 species listed as threatened (creek chubsucker, blue sucker, and blackside darter) and 6 species of mussels listed as state threatened. Four of the mussel species collected as part of our survey have been petitioned for federal listing. The highest mussel diversity was 28 species and occurred within the upper Neches, which corresponds to the location of a new USFW refuge. The highest fish diversity occurred in the Sabine River. The Texas Pigtoe appears stable but is difficult to separate visually from the rare Triangle Pigtoe. The distribution of the Southern Hickorynut is restricted to only a very few sites on the Neches River. The Louisiana Pigtoe is also restricted to the Neches River. The Sandbank Pocketbook and the Texas Heelsplitter are rare everywhere and primarily found only in the Neches and Sabine Rivers. Introduction The United States contains an extremely diverse freshwater mussel fauna (Unionids) with approximately 300 historic species (Neves et al., 1997; Williams et al., 1993). However, anthropogenic effects on the nation’s rivers have impacted both the number of species and their abundances and distributions (Vaughn, 1997; Vaughn and Taylor, 2000; Strayer, 1999). Currently, about 12 percent are considered extinct and 23 percent are threatened (Galbraith et al., 2008, Galbraith and Vaughn, 2010; Shannon, 1993). In Texas the same habitat destruction from impoundments, contaminants and invasive species have occured with the result that of the 51 described species of unionids, 15 species were designated as State Threatened (TPWD, 2009) and of those 9 are being considered for protection under the Endangered species Act (ESA). Of those 6 species are found in the larger rivers of eastern Texas. Similar to freshwater mussel species, the southern United States has the richest diversity and highest number of endemic fish species in North America, with 41% of these native fishes considered endangered, threatened, or vulnerable (Warren et al. 2000). Habitat alteration including channelization, impoundments, sedimentation, and other flow modifications are the primary reasons behind these declines (Warren et al. 2000). East Texas is a center for fish diversity in the state. For example, two of its largest rivers, the Neches and Sabine Rivers, have 93 and 108 species, respectively, out of the approximately 161 species known in the state (Thomas et al. 2007). The same impacts on fish occur in these rivers. 5 Northeast Texas has 5 river basins that have independent flow to either the Red River in Louisiana or to the Gulf of Mexico. Because of its water resources, this area has been a prime site for reservoir development and for commercial interests that require large quantities of water. Intensive ranching, poultry operations, timber harvesting, and oil drilling are significant industries in most northeast Texas counties. In addition, because of the dramatic increase in population in the nearby Dallas/Fort Worth area, intense pressure exists to build dams on all the rivers and large tributaries in the region. Populations within northeast Texas alone are expected to increase from 1 million to 1.5 million people increasing the demand for water (TPWD 2005). Alteration of the natural flow regime caused by reservoir construction is one of the most significant threats to riverine ecosystems (Dynesius and Nilsson 1994, Nilsson and Berggren 2000). The 2005-2010 Texas Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Strategy plan (TPWD 2005) identified "evaluating how instream flows and water quality impact rare and endangered species" as an area of high priority. For both fishes and mussels, disruption of natural habitat has been reported as one of the most significant threats to their survival (Williams et al. 1993, Warren et al. 2000). To list a species under the ESA requires “substantial information” using biological data to demonstrate destruction of habitat and range, overutilization, inadequate regulation, and factors impacting it continued existence (USFWS, 2009). For mussels in Texas, for both rare and common species, such information is lacking (Howells, 2010). Historically, unionids have received limited attention from the scientific and regulatory agencies. In 1992 Texas Parks and Wildlife Department began some studies throughout the state on mussel abundances and also harvesting pressures. In 2008 a petition to list eleven species was presented to the USFWS with 6 of those species found in eastern Texas. In a 90 day finding USFWS removed the Southern Hickorynut (Obovaria jacksoniana) from federal consideration although it is still state listed as threatened. The five remaining east Texas species being considered are the Louisiana Pigtoe, Pleurobema riddellii, the Texas Pigtoe, Fusconaia askewi, the Triangle Pigtoe, Fusconaia lananensis, the Sandbank Pocketbook, Lampsilis satura, and the Texas Heelsplitter, Potamilus amphichaenus. To validate their threatened status more complete surveys for rare species of fish and mussels are needed throughout the extent of the rivers in the northeast Texas region. The historical survey data on the mussels and fishes in the region is limited in scope and much of it is dated. Five of the twelve unionid species considered for listing as Endangered by the U.